That was shocking, and saddening, and made me ashamed of our species as a whole. I grew up in a culture where gay-bashing was a regular Saturday evening entertainment for young men, almost like a rite of passage; it sickened me then, and at times I despair of our future when I read that these things are still happening. Because it hasn't stopped with Matthew's death - it will take at least another generation to pass before it's acceptable to be gay, or to be different from the homogenous "normal" in any way whatsoever.